KUALA LUMPUR: Home improvement retailer MR D.I.Y. Group (M) Bhd has targeted more than 100 million transactions by the year-end from 95.8 million recorded in 2020.
Chief executive officer Adrian Ong Chu Jin said this would be driven by returning customers to MR D.I.Y. stores and new outlets opening this year.
"We added 93 stores in the first half of 2021. We hope to play catch-up and open another 82 stores across all three brands (MR DIY, MR Dollar and MR Toy) in the second half of the year, making it 175 stores nationwide," he said in a virtual MIDF Conversations with MIDF group managing director Datuk Charon Wardini Mokhzani here today.
"We provide daily essential items with lower prices for everyday use, averaging a basket size of under RM30.
"We are confident customer traffic will return. The pandemic has a clear effect on depreciation in traffic volume as people stay at home and avoid busy areas. This has made our customers to be more purposeful in purchases to prepare for their future needs," Ong said.
He said transactions at its stores were mostly in cash, but credit card and e-wallets had begun picking up, especially among the young generation.
He said MR D.I.Y.'s fixed-price store format was effective in attracting customers, coupled with a treasure hunt concept throughout its stores.
"Our inventories keep on evolving and stay relevant with over 20,000 different items in a store, depending on the demographic, which distinguishes our products offering," he said.
Having a systematic system that supports the team to build business scale was vital to ensure continual improvement with gradual products evolvement in curating the group's business model, said Ong.
"We are only 15 years old having started in 2005. Our business model serves the masses. We offer non-grocery and non-consumable products that surround us on a daily basis.
"We operate with about 827 outlets throughout the country, while focusing on e-commerce and omni-channel for added convenience in the population or neighbourhood," he said.
Ong said MR D.I.Y. would maintain competitive prices based on the scientific formula before opening a new store.
"We focus on data to select sites and serve the population. We curate the store offerings to match the demand.
"We have different formula of smaller format to serve smaller community. We utilise the data to support the community in sustainable way," he said.
Ong said Covid-19 had affected consumers trend and that the necessity of do-it-yourself (DIY) had increased.
The work-from-home concept had contributed to its business, he added.
Ong said fixed price retailing had been successful worldwide, mirroring its profitable business with the widest application to support all income groups.
"We realise there is a need for affordable items. We utilise our network in sourcing, deploying and enhancing our products offering, while providing new retail vertical for family in all category segments," he added.
MR D.I.Y's business is formulated based on direct-sourcing from suppliers to get the best prices, while cutting the middlemen and negotiating on mass scale for competitive prices.
"We have efficiency in our procurement with data, using our operating network to efficiently import and distribute products, to benefit the customers with affordable prices.
"The market is big enough in Malaysia for retailers. It is about finding the common denominators across the customers based on their needs and servicing their needs," he added.
MR D.I.Y. had raised up to RM1.5 billion from its initial public offering with a total issuance of 941.5 million shares at RM1.60 each last October.
